I have to admit, I have a bias on this issue. I do not even consider dating girls who are overweight and I do not think it is a healthy trait in general. Anorexic is very dangerous as well, of course and I dont advocate for that. I am friends with plenty of overweight people, but as far as physical intimacy goes, I have my standards. Fat is just not attractive and never will be. I am most attracted to pretty girls who are shorter than me, have some muscle tone, have nice stomaches, some curves and nice legs are a major turn on. I do not go for porn star DD size boobs so much. The study did not say anything new, but the authors had some dumb things to say. Namely, that the US is a fitness minded society. What????? We are the most obese people of any developed country, far and away. Example/sign of the times: Fenway Park opened in 1912- the seats are very small and close together. I can fit in them with no problem. A good 2/3 of the people I see are spilling over the arms of the chair. Absolutely nauseating, and shows how fat we have become over time. Even if you look at statistics from the 70s and 80s, or look at baseball game crowd shots from that time period- all the guys w/o shirts and girls in tank tops-almost none looked like the majority do now! Hell, even U2 crowd shots. JT tour everyone is skinny, it seems, now, its a mixed bag though a fitter crowd than the baseball games.
Another problem w/ their study- their assertion that studies have shown lifestyle does not play a big factor in whether someone is overweight. They then go on to say that it was an experiment in a controlled lab environment. Shoots down their own argument-no real world application. Well, that does not count worth anything, its called internal vs external validity. That study has no external validity. Lab experiments work testing AIDS drugs and the like, weight, not so much. Genetics play a role, sure, but genes are different across every society and I dont see the stories about Canadians and Europeans struggling with obesity to the point where it puts a major financial strain on their health care systems like it does here. Spare us all, I have pretty skinny genes, my dad is 5'9, 155 lbs, but people w/ the same build as him back when he was in the Army in Vietnam see him today and cant believe he is still the same weight. Difference- my dad goes to the gym all the time, can bench press 235 lbs and he stays active. I am 5'10, 155-160 lbs(depends on how hot it is) go to the gym and for the most part, eat whatever I want. It is a matter of being active- working out, especially strength training, quickens your metabolism and allows you to burn more calories, even at rest. There is some truth to the saying that if you work out, you can eat whatever you want, though it is my experience that this applies more to men than to women.
Weight is a legitmiate concern in choosing who to be physically intimate with and is a legitimate concern in a select few jobs where fitness is an issue(police, fire, military, though some cops and firefighters look to me like they have not had fitness tests since U2 formed!!). However, singling someone out as unqualified for a job based on their weight compared to some other applicants seems to be discriminatory and counterproductive, but that is just reality, not something that should be legally protected. You cant change gender, age, race, sexual orientation, etc. Weight, you do have some control over, most studies show that. Weightism in most cases is impractical and shortsighted, but in my opinion, it should not be a legal issue. And it should in no way be compared to the very real racism overcome by the civil rights movement in the 1960s as well as the less widespread(though still existing) racism of today. Race, overall we have made huge progress on. Equal access to opportunity across all income levels is the MAJOR DISCRIMINATORY OBSTACLE BY FAR in our society. Though it does not get attention because it is and has always been de facto, not de jure. Obama said that affirmative action should not apply to his daughters based on race alone- why, the acknowledgement that as priviledged blacks, they have had substantially better opportunities than 2 white girls from Appalachia or a rust belt city. If Yale wants to study an issue, that should be it- how do we expand opportunity to people of all income levels in today's economy? Race and certainly weight are secondary these days. But I digress.
Bottom line: People who dont like it should try and get in shape, there is no magic diet formula, despite what the industry says. Just eat less/more careful, and exercise regularly and be active in general. Take the stairs over the elevator, park away from the entrance, take a walk instead of always looking at those celebrities and wishing you would look like them, etc. Most will see results from this. Get into the habit, sounds intense at first, but your mind and body will thank you once you get in shape, believe me. I have done full body workouts since my freshman yr of high school (december 2001) and have been so much happier and healthier, more confident, you name it, ever since.